Kratom is legal in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania does not schedule the substance, no city ordinance currently bans its sale, and there is no state-mandated minimum purchase age. That answer could change this year: both the Philadelphia City Council and the state Senate have active 2025 bills that would license retailers, set a 21-and-older age limit, and impose product safety standards. A few other rules already apply even while kratom itself is legal, and they catch people off guard.
What State and City Law Say Today
Pennsylvania has no law regulating, restricting, or prohibiting the possession, sale, or use of kratom. The substance does not appear on any schedule of the state’s Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act. Buying kratom at a Philadelphia smoke shop or ordering it online to a city address carries no criminal penalty under state law.
The city has no ordinance of its own on the books either. A prior effort at the state level, House Bill 2357, passed the Pennsylvania House 197–3 in 2022 but stalled in the Senate and never became law.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania General Assembly – House Bill 2357 Nothing has replaced it, which is why the market in Philadelphia operates with no state product standards, no labeling rules, and no mandatory age check.
What Could Change in 2025
Senate Bill 233: Kratom Consumer Protection Act
In the 2025–2026 session, Senate Bill 233 would create a Kratom Consumer Protection Act. The bill would prohibit the sale of unsafe kratom products and ban sales to anyone under 21.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania General Assembly – Senate Bill 233 Retailers would need to meet product safety standards set by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The bill has been referred to committee and has not received a floor vote.
A House Memo Targeting Synthetic 7-OH
A separate House co-sponsorship memo takes a narrower route. It would classify only synthetic kratom and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) as Schedule I controlled substances, while leaving the natural kratom leaf unregulated.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania General Assembly – House Co-Sponsorship Memo 47783 The memo describes 7-OH as a “highly concentrated synthetic byproduct” with “powerful opioid-like effects” turning up in gummies and drinks. If a bill advances from this memo, possession of products containing synthetic 7-OH could carry criminal penalties even while plain kratom leaf stays legal.
Philadelphia’s Intoxicating Substances Ordinance
City Council Majority Leader Gilmore Richardson introduced 2025 legislation that would add a new section to the Philadelphia Code covering the sale of intoxicating substances, kratom and hemp-derived products among them.4Philadelphia City Council. Majority Leader Gilmore Richardson Introduces New Bills to Address the Sale of Intoxicating Substances and Illegal Tobacco Products The main pieces:
- A new intoxicating substance retailer license would be required to sell these products.
- Products containing intoxicating substances would be treated as adulterated and could not be sold until the FDA deems them safe.
- Sales would be limited to people 21 and older.
- Commercial landlords renting to illegal smoke shops could face enforcement.
A related resolution authorized the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development to hold hearings on the sale of unregulated substances.5City of Philadelphia. City of Philadelphia – File 250729 If the adulteration standard passes as written, kratom sales in the city could effectively stop until the FDA changes its position on the substance. Buyers should plan for that possibility.
Age to Buy
There is no mandatory purchase age in Pennsylvania. Many Philadelphia retailers voluntarily card at 18 or 21, and most online vendors shipping into the city apply their own age verification. If either Senate Bill 233 or the Philadelphia ordinance passes, the minimum will be 21.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania General Assembly – Senate Bill 233 The earlier 2022 House bill set the floor at 18, so the direction of recent proposals has moved up.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania General Assembly – House Bill 2357 If you are between 18 and 20, the easy-access window may close soon.
Driving After Using Kratom
This is where “legal” misleads people. Pennsylvania’s DUI statute at Section 3802(d)(2) makes it illegal to drive while “under the influence of a drug or combination of drugs to a degree which impairs the individual’s ability to safely drive.”6Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 75 Section 3802 – Driving Under Influence of Alcohol or Controlled Substance The statute says “a drug,” not “a controlled substance.” Kratom qualifies.
If an officer observes impaired driving and a drug recognition evaluation points to kratom, a DUI charge under this subsection is viable even though kratom is not scheduled. There is no bright-line blood threshold the way there is for alcohol, so prosecutions turn on observed impairment. Do not drive after using kratom in amounts that affect your coordination or judgment.
Work, School, and Other Places It Still Matters
Standard 5-panel and 10-panel employment drug screens do not detect kratom or its metabolites. Specialized assays exist but must be ordered specifically, and most Philadelphia employers do not include them. That does not mean you are safe at work.
Pennsylvania employers can set drug-free workplace policies that cover legal substances. An employer can name kratom in its policy and discipline or terminate employees who use it, especially in safety-sensitive roles. This is the same framework that lets employers ban alcohol during work hours. If you drive commercially, operate machinery, or work in healthcare, read your employer’s substance policy directly rather than assuming legal status protects you.
Schools apply their own rules. The School District of Philadelphia’s policies prohibit controlled substances on school property, defined as substances in Schedules I through V of the Controlled Substances Act.7The School District of Philadelphia. The School District of Philadelphia Policy 904 – Public Attendance at School Events Kratom is not scheduled, so it may not fall under that definition, but individual schools often maintain broader codes of conduct covering unauthorized substances, and an administrator could treat kratom as a disciplinary matter anyway. Students should leave it at home.
Government buildings, courthouses, and secure facilities routinely restrict unverified products at security checkpoints. Private property owners, including shopping centers and office parks, can prohibit kratom through lease terms or posted policies. None of these restrictions are criminal, but suspensions, terminations, and denied entry are real consequences.
The Federal Picture
Kratom’s two primary alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, are not scheduled under the federal Controlled Substances Act. The DEA announced its intent to place both into Schedule I in 2016 but withdrew the proposal after significant public backlash.8Drug Enforcement Administration. DEA Announces Intent to Schedule Kratom A federal Kratom Consumer Protection Act was introduced in the 118th Congress as S.3039 but did not pass.9Congress.gov. S.3039 – Federal Kratom Consumer Protection Act
The FDA has not approved kratom as a dietary supplement, food additive, or drug. The agency considers it a “new dietary ingredient” that has not been shown to be safe, and treats dietary supplements containing kratom as adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Under Import Alert 54-15, the FDA detains kratom shipments at the border without physical examination.10U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Import Alert 54-15 – Detention Without Physical Examination of Dietary Supplements and Bulk Dietary Ingredients That Are or Contain Mitragyna Speciosa or Kratom It has also used U.S. Marshals to seize kratom products already in domestic commerce when marketed as supplements.11U.S. Food and Drug Administration. US Marshals Seize Dietary Supplements Containing Kratom
In July 2025, the FDA issued warning letters targeting products containing 7-hydroxymitragynine, classifying them as unapproved new drugs. The agency said no FDA-approved drugs contain 7-OH and that marketing any such product is illegal.12U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Issues Warning Letters to Firms Marketing Products Containing 7-Hydroxymitragynine Philadelphia retailers making therapeutic claims about kratom, such as pain relief or anxiety management, risk federal enforcement regardless of state legality.